Lusitanos vs West Ham match report: Elliot Lee scores only goal of the game as 10-man Hammers move into second qualifying round
Lusitanos 0 West Ham 1 (agg: 0-4)
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Your support makes all the difference.West Ham progressed into the second round of qualifying for this season's Europa League, with Terry Westley hailing their victory over FC Lusitans as "mission accomplished".
The Hammers were 3-0 up heading to Andorra, but any thoughts of a simple evening were expelled when Diafra Sakho, who scored two of those goals, was sent off with less than 15 minutes gone.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the visitors still sealed a 1-0 win on the night as Elliot Lee grabbed his first senior West Ham goal to complete a 4-0 aggregate victory.
Westley, who was again in charge of the team even though new boss Slaven Bilic travelled with the team and took up a place in the dug-out, was again pleased with how the team performed.
"Mission accomplished, you would say, over the two legs," he said.
"We asked a group of players to return to work on June 22 and the cohesion between the senior and younger players was absolutely first class.
"The second leg was made very different after 10 minutes and we ended up having to play with 10 men.
"I've got total respect for the senior players and how they went about it in both games. We kept two clean sheets and the way the two centre-halves dealt with everything they threw at us, they were determined to keep the ball out of the net."
James Tomkins again skippered the side, with Joey O'Brien making his 100th West Ham appearance and the likes of Matt Jarvis and Morgan Amalfitano also included.
But it was Lee, on his full debut, who coolly slotted home after 21 minutes to settle the game shortly after Sakho had been dismissed for an off-the-ball incident with Lusitans defender Moises San Nicolas.
"It was that type of match, a bit niggly," added Westley.
"There were lots of times when it got stopped and people rolling around on the ground and it was interrupted a lot.
"We said to the young ones that they really have to learn in Europe that if you are petulant, you can get yourself a yellow card and put yourself under pressure.
"I have to say I didn't see the incident as it was so far away from where the ball way. It's not even on our filming of the game by our analysts. It's a lesson learnt and it made it harder for the remaining 10 players."
The Hammers rarely tested again, although Lee bent a curling effort wide in the dying stages before Tomkins had to hack a Alfi Conteh-Lacalle free-kick off the line.
The second qualifying round will see Bilic's side - which will likely include a number of first-team regulars who have now returned from a training camp in Ireland - take on Birkirkara of Malta, with the first leg at Upton Park next Thursday.
PA
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